Valter Longo, one of the world’s leading longevity researchers. He has spent more than 30 years studying what makes people healthy and live longer. Since 1989 he has directed major studies. He is currently the director of the Longevity and Cancer Laboratory at the IFOM Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy. His 15 years of deep research has brought him to a set of recommendations. He envisions these detailed guidelines making everyone’s lives longer and healthier – to live well up to age 120.
Longo’s approach focuses on diet, exercise, and mental health as the cornerstones of living a long, productive life. His wisdom comes from this fused combination of diets, strong influences of the Okinawa and Mediterranean diets. He has been a fierce advocate for a mostly vegan diet. This dietary pattern must be rich in dark vegetables, tree nuts, legumes, and whole grains with minimal fruit consumption. Furthermore, he advises eating fish at least three or four times a week to reap the maximum benefits to health.
Dietary Recommendations for Longevity
Longo’s longevity diet includes a broad variety of foods intended to improve health at every age. He remains a fierce proponent of lots of vegetables—insisting that this part is the most important step to staying healthy.
“I recommend what I call the longevity diet, which takes from lots of different things.” – Valter Longo
Besides vegetables, Longo promotes tree nuts and legumes as staples in his dietary prescriptions. Whole grains go beyond being merely practical – they are catchy, thanks to promoting their health benefits. This combination aims to provide essential nutrients while minimizing the intake of less beneficial foods.
Longo developed the fasting-mimicking diet through research with scientists at UCLA. This is because this fasting mimicking diet helps people reap all the benefits of fasting without going full-time off food. He suggests starting with a 12-hour fasting window every day, which can easily be worked into a regular eating pattern.
“I recommended 12 hours of fasting daily. Let’s say you eat between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. or 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.” – Valter Longo
After his five-day fast, he proposes a reversion to something like an ordinary diet for the rest of the month. Their cyclical approach is specifically structured to advance metabolic health alongside longevity.
Exercise and Mental Well-Being
In addition to food habits, Longo makes a case for day-in, day-out exercise as being key to a long life. To start, the CDC now strongly recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise each week. This must involve at least 50 minutes of vigorous activity that challenges people to their full capacity.
“On top of that, I add an hour a day of walking. Going up and down stairs. Be active in addition to the 150 minutes.” – Valter Longo
He advocates for easy lifestyle changes, like walking to businesses you could otherwise drive to. These subtle shifts used to be the norm among people who lived to be 100.
Beyond healthy body Longo is careful to announce the need for positive mental health as a pillar of longevity. He views mental well-being as an important complement to physical health and key to creating a productive, long-term path toward optimal health.
“None of these things can make up happiness all on their own.” – Arthur C. Brooks
Recent Research Findings
A new study published this month at the beginning of 2024 has offered even more backing for Longo’s fasting-mimicking diet. Their research concluded that this CS diet is associated with decreased cancer, cardiac and diabetic risk in mice. This finding underscores the promise that this diet has on improving health. With Longo as the primary author of this paper, it only continues to legitimize Longo’s current research and interest in longevity.
“I’d like to make it to 120. But whatever I get, it’s okay. At least I’ll have no regrets saying, ‘Well, I didn’t do all the right things.’” – Valter Longo
His commitment to these principles is reflected in his personal life as he strives to embody the habits he promotes.
“I do everything that I preach. I don’t know if I [hit the target] all the way, but I certainly think it’s good to try.” – Valter Longo